3 ms·

Not sure about trucks but modern SUVs have a good mpg rating. About as good as recent sedans.

by cema 10y ago

maxerickson 10y ago
The best trucks are around 25 mpg highway, sedans can be over 30 mpg (it's a big category; a larger, high performance sedan will use more fuel than a smaller one and so on). Which is comparable, but it also ends up being an extra gallon of fuel every 100 miles (on a base of about 3 gallons per 100 miles).
- imgabe 10y ago
  The biggest gains are at the lower end. Far more gas is saved by going from 10mpg to 20mpg than from 20mpg to 40mpg. Just look at the math: 10,000 miles per year at 10 mpg = 1000 gallons of gas 10,000 miles per year at 20 mpg = 500 gallons of gas 10,000 miles per year at 40 mpg = 250 gallons of gas You save 500 gallons going from 10 -> 20 mpg, but only 250 gallons going from 20-> 40. Of course it's best to use the highest mpg you can, but the benefit drops proportionally as it gets higher, so it's harder to justify the extra expense when a lower mpg vehicle (but still relatively high) might be much less expensive to buy and maintain and possibly even have less environmental impact to manufacture. After all someone has to mine the Lithium etc. in all those batteries.
  - maxerickson 10y ago
    Of course it's best to use the highest mpg you can, but the benefit drops proportionally as it gets higher, so it's harder to justify the extra expense when a lower mpg vehicle (but still relatively high) might be much less expensive to buy and maintain and possibly even have less environmental impact to manufacture. The trucks and SUVs in OPs post are both more expensive and more material intensive than a 35 mpg sedan. I agree with you about the tradeoff as you go up the mileage scale from there, but there are lots of medium sized vehicles that just destroy trucks and SUVs on those metrics.
- candu 10y ago
  Motorcycle owner here. I routinely get 60-80 mpg, depending on smoothness of traffic, terrain, tire pressure, and load. Of course, this isn't a fair comparison. Personally, I'd love to see much wider use of HOV lanes, possibly with a steep up-front permit cost for people who refuse to carpool. (By the time this happens, though, we'll probably all be using just-in-time self-driving cars.)
- cema 10y ago
  On my 2017 Subaru Forester I routinely make about 29 mpg when going to and from work. (Which nicely coincides with my 29-mile commute.) According to the car passport, it should be getting 26 mpg in city, 32 on highway, 28 overall, but I am not sure what kind of traffic is considered "city", "highway" and so on.
  - JoeAltmaier 10y ago
    The forester mileage (I drive one) is highly sensitive to driving style. You can only get above 30mph by being very conservative - shifting up at 2000RPM, coasting whenever possible, accelerating like you're pressing on eggshells. Just put up the instantaneous-mileage screen and you'll see how hard it is to keep it in the higher range.
    - cema 10y ago
      That's what I do (drive with the mileage screen on). I coast a lot, and in general am pretty gentle on the gas pedal, except when I need to join the traffic, where I sometimes apply the full pressure: CVT is a bit different from what I am used to but seems ok.

Not sure about trucks but modern SUVs have a good mpg rating. About as good as recent sedans.

by cema 10y ago

Not sure about trucks but modern SUVs have a good mpg rating. About as good as recent sedans.

The best trucks are around 25 mpg highway, sedans can be over 30 mpg (it's a big category; a larger, high performance sedan will use more fuel than a smaller one and so on). Which is comparable, but it also ends up being an extra gallon of fuel every 100 miles (on a base of about 3 gallons per 100 miles).

imgabe 10y ago
The biggest gains are at the lower end. Far more gas is saved by going from 10mpg to 20mpg than from 20mpg to 40mpg. Just look at the math: 10,000 miles per year at 10 mpg = 1000 gallons of gas 10,000 miles per year at 20 mpg = 500 gallons of gas 10,000 miles per year at 40 mpg = 250 gallons of gas You save 500 gallons going from 10 -> 20 mpg, but only 250 gallons going from 20-> 40. Of course it's best to use the highest mpg you can, but the benefit drops proportionally as it gets higher, so it's harder to justify the extra expense when a lower mpg vehicle (but still relatively high) might be much less expensive to buy and maintain and possibly even have less environmental impact to manufacture. After all someone has to mine the Lithium etc. in all those batteries.
- maxerickson 10y ago
  Of course it's best to use the highest mpg you can, but the benefit drops proportionally as it gets higher, so it's harder to justify the extra expense when a lower mpg vehicle (but still relatively high) might be much less expensive to buy and maintain and possibly even have less environmental impact to manufacture. The trucks and SUVs in OPs post are both more expensive and more material intensive than a 35 mpg sedan. I agree with you about the tradeoff as you go up the mileage scale from there, but there are lots of medium sized vehicles that just destroy trucks and SUVs on those metrics.
candu 10y ago
Motorcycle owner here. I routinely get 60-80 mpg, depending on smoothness of traffic, terrain, tire pressure, and load. Of course, this isn't a fair comparison. Personally, I'd love to see much wider use of HOV lanes, possibly with a steep up-front permit cost for people who refuse to carpool. (By the time this happens, though, we'll probably all be using just-in-time self-driving cars.)
cema 10y ago
On my 2017 Subaru Forester I routinely make about 29 mpg when going to and from work. (Which nicely coincides with my 29-mile commute.) According to the car passport, it should be getting 26 mpg in city, 32 on highway, 28 overall, but I am not sure what kind of traffic is considered "city", "highway" and so on.
- JoeAltmaier 10y ago
  The forester mileage (I drive one) is highly sensitive to driving style. You can only get above 30mph by being very conservative - shifting up at 2000RPM, coasting whenever possible, accelerating like you're pressing on eggshells. Just put up the instantaneous-mileage screen and you'll see how hard it is to keep it in the higher range.
  - cema 10y ago
    That's what I do (drive with the mileage screen on). I coast a lot, and in general am pretty gentle on the gas pedal, except when I need to join the traffic, where I sometimes apply the full pressure: CVT is a bit different from what I am used to but seems ok.